The product manager role is challenging, rewarding and highly sought after in today's job marketplace, especially in Hong Kong.
Product managers have a strong scope for career growth. According to Glassdoor, the average starting salary for a product manager in Hong Kong is HKD 491,037 per year.
Prospects are also overwhelmingly positive for product managers and a scrum product owner, as the roles open up many new prospects for growth like becoming a CEO.
How Do I Get Into Product Management?
- Gain valuable experience doing online specialized training
- Pursue a full-time degree program
- Obtain and perfect your skills in an internship or on-the-job.
- Curiosity around your job
How To Become A Product Manager
1. Specialized Training
The most effective way for you to get the training you need to become a product manager is to enroll yourself in specialized training. This will fast track your journey to becoming a professional product manager and save you a lot of time.
Specialized training is also comparatively cheaper compared to a full-length advanced degree, and most will offer you hands-on experience with tools that you'll be using during your employment.
You can check out a few online courses from reputable universities that can train you to become a good product manager within a short period of time. You can have a look at the Digital Product Management course from the University Of Virginia, which offers you job-relevant training to prepare you for the real world. The University Of Alberta offers its Software Product Management Specialization course completely online.
These courses provide you with the tools needed to gain valuable expertise in product marketing. Not only this, but at the end of your coursework, you will have a portfolio of projects to display on your resume to show your experience.
2. Advanced Degree Program
MBA Programs can be great for building team cooperation and leadership skills. They also provide you with all the tools necessary to become an effective product manager.
Product lifecycle management is growing fast, and the need for agile project management has never been greater. Remember, an MBA program is a big commitment and can take years to complete. Once you've started your course, you have limited opportunities to switch up in case your interests change over time. Additionally, MBA programs can be extremely expensive, far more so than part-time online product management course.
You only want to go ahead and enroll yourself in an MBA course for product management if you have the time and resources to complete your degree for sure. Compared to specialization courses and learning on the job, MBA courses do train you to effectively manage product life cycles. They also allow you to interact with other aspiring product managers to build a community around your contacts. Remember, your network is your net worth. Doing an MBA course will help bring you closer to other like-minded individuals who you can interact with daily and exchange ideas, something that an online specialization course has limited ability to do.
3. How to Become a Product Manager by Learning on the Job
What if you don't have the funds or the time to attend an MBA degree or do a specialization course online? Your alternative option is to learn on the job.
Unfortunately, this route might lead to you needing to do the most amount of work to compensate for not having a formal qualification.
Product management roles can help you land a job that will allow you to grow your skillset. To help you break-in to the field, internships are a great idea to get you started in the right direction.
This is also the most difficult route because it will involve you needing to compete against others in the job market who are qualified. However, if you do manage to land an opportunity without doing a specialized course or MBA, you may have saved yourself valuable time and money in the process. It's a trade-off worth taking.
In fact, even if you are formally pursuing a qualification, it's still a great idea to look out of opportunities in the meanwhile anyway, and consider studying and working at the same time. This way, you'll be able to gain valuable skills and training about the lifecycle of a product while having a regular income to support yourself. You'll also be fully trained and already employed by the time you're done with your product management training.
Which Path Is Best For You?
With so many options, it can be overwhelming to decide which path you would like to take to reach your end goal of becoming a product manager in Hong Kong. Since there are plenty of job openings for the role, it's worth making an effort to gain the skills required to become a professional in the industry.
But how do you get there? There are a few things to consider.
If you have both the time and the money, then it's a great idea to go ahead and pursue a full MBA course in product management from a reputable university. This will equip you with the tools and abilities needed to make it in the industry while being backed by the name of a renowned institution.
If you have the time but not the financial resources to afford an expensive MBA program, you may consider completing a specialized online course in product management like the ones mentioned. They cost less than MBA programs and provide you with many of the same skills that you need to excel at the job. You may also end up having more practical experience and a portfolio full of projects that you have already completed.
Recruiters like to see actual tangible evidence that you possess the skills they're looking for, and an online course can do that for you almost just as good as any MBA program. Also, recruiters are becoming increasingly more open and receptive to online remote-learning based programs because they demonstrate that you have the drive and ambition as well as the discipline to engage in the agile approach of self-learning.
Lastly, if you find yourself in a position where you're unable to attend an online specialization course and an MBA because of lack of funds and want to jump into the industry immediately, on the job training may is the solution for you.
A great way to start is to begin applying for jobs for a junior product manager role or even an appropriate internship in the field. At times, you may have to settle for a slightly different role but with similar responsibilities. Basically, you want to work to get your foot in the door to get you to a position where you can work to move yourself up in the ranks of the industry.
While this is the most difficult way to do it, it will cost you little to no time and also save you a whole lot of money that you would've otherwise spent on an MBA program. Look for junior roles in startup companies or even start your own company and begin working hard at it. Patience and perseverance are key when starting from the bottom, but the right amount of effort can yield great results with this agile methodology.
Conclusion
The role of product manager is highly lucrative for young digital professionals. It is a job that offers a good amount of security and compensation for the efforts put in.
In terms of salary, the role of a product manager is on the higher end of the spectrum, with product managers drawing handsome salaries which allow for a comfortable lifestyle.
Job security and high-pay are some of the main reasons that this role is favored for digital professionals. Incredible industry demand for quality product managers means that there is a good amount of job security for potential candidates.
Whether you choose to pursue an online specialization course, full-time MBA program or just try your luck with on the job training, there are no shortages of ways that you can achieve your dream of becoming a product manager. Hard work coupled with perseverance can yield great results for this highly sought after role.
Also Read：Top Tech Skills for Aspiring Product Managers
Product Management related courses:
- Introduction to Product Management
- Digital Marketing and Growth Hacking
- UX Design
- Web Development for Absolute Beginners
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